Length: about 13km (8.1 miles). See † below for how to detour to Leigh station. Toughness: 1/10-2/10
For a longer walk of 16.5km (10.3 miles) you could continue to Tonbridge on the full main walk, where there are plenty of refreshment options dotted around the High Street
Take the 10:07 Uckfield service from London Bridge (calls East Croydon 10:22) arriving Hever at 10:49
Return trains from Leigh are at xx.05 to London Victoria (change at Redhill, arrive xx:33 depart xx:40) and xx:26 to London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross (change at Tonbridge, arrive xx:31 depart xx:37)
Return trains from Tonbridge to London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross are at xx:07, xx:13, xx:37, xx:44.
The walk notes suggest an “Any Permitted” return to Leigh (Kent). This will be accepted for the return leg on South Eastern services. In practice a Leigh ticket has always been accepted to Hever but you may be asked to pay a small supplement for a one-stop extension to Hever.
This is not the book 1 Hever to Leigh route . Instead, this walk mostly follows the Eden Valley Walk with a short detour to Leigh towards the end. The route is mostly along firm paths, but there will likely be a quaggy stretch out of Hever and by the left-turn bridge. † To finish at Leigh, at Point 37 (the "Straight Mile") in the written directions, when you see the concrete bridge on your left, turn left over it switching to Point 51 of the Book 1 Walk 19 Hever to Leigh route for the short stretch to Leigh.
Lunch: In Penshurst village, there isThe Leicester Arms Hotel (01892-871617) or the Porcupine Pantry (01892-871277) which is just outside the main entrance to Penshurst Place. For those having a picnic, the church grounds have some benches.
For end of walk refreshments, there is the Fleur de Lis (01732 832283), a friendly village pub close to Leigh station which serves food and drinks, including tea and coffee.
Please remember that these walks are self led: for full details and to download your copy of the directions see the L=swc.345 page.
1 comment:
#7 emerged from the train (as well as a very big group of mostly young people, possibly students, who set off before us, luckily they were doing a circular) on a day with #low_but_strong_sun and #clear_blue_skies. The route mainly follows the Eden Valley Way, and there was plenty of water around – full streams, rivers (Eden and Medway) and ponds. The paths were slithery and care was needed but there were no quagmires or impassable areas, and we ended up much less muddy than the rugby players we saw on the last stretch into Tonbridge. One planned to eat at the Leicester Arms in Penshurst but was told she couldn’t without a reservation. Most had a drink there, and we all skipped the café a bit later, and having discovered that the pub in Leigh was shut, all walked onto Tonbridge. For various reasons no one wanted a drink or tea but it was a good day out anyway, lots of conversation and nature.
(NB we saw several occurrences of a fungi formed of a mass of tiny white balls on clumps of grass as well as decaying wood – the internet calls it “slime mould” which sounds a bit unimaginative.)
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